Defense delivers for Mustangs

Saturday

The first two weeks of the 2019 football season weren't a lot of fun for Salina Central seniors Gage Prester and Cade Lopez.

First came the frustrating loss to Goddard Eisenhower in the season opener, followed by a shutout loss to Derby High's juggernaut.

But, Week 3 was a different story for Prester, Lopez and the Mustangs, who whipped Salina South, 17-7, Friday night at Salina Stadium in the 50th annual Mayor's Cup.

"I mean, I've been looking forward to this moment since I was four years old, so this does mean a lot to me," said Lopez, an outside linebacker, who caused havoc in the South backfield for much of the night. "I'm glad, I'm proud; this is a moment I'm never going to forget."

Prester echoed those comments from his teammate.

"We're going to be able to talk about it for the rest of our lives," he said outside the joyous Central locker room. "It's our senior year. It feels great."

Central's defense gave in just once, but it still took a short field for the Cougars to punch it into the end zone in the second quarter to knot things up at 7-7. South had partially blocked a Central punt to take over at the Mustang 12-yard line.

"I think the defense played really good," said Prester, a 160-pound cornerback for the Mustangs. "We got put in kind of a bad situation (after the blocked punt) where they ended up scoring, but the offense started getting into it. Yeah, we just sucked it up and did what we had to do."

Prester produced two of the biggest plays of the first half and they helped Central take a 10-7 lead into the locker room. He broke a 48-yard punt return in the first quarter to set up the Mustangs offense at the South 16. One play later, quarterback Jackson Kavanagh hooked up with tight end Quinn Stewart for the touchdown pass at the 4:54 mark.

"We were supposed to go left, but there was a (South) guy right in front of me so I decided to go the other way and we had some great blocks," Prester said of his return. "Everybody blocked well. It was great."

In the final minute of the first half, the game was tied at 7-7 and South was looking to take the lead with a first down at the Central 30. But South quarterback Terran Galloway's pass in the left flat was swiped by Prester, who returned in 51 yards to the South 34.

Three plays after the interception, Kray True booted a 22-yard field goal on the final play of the half to give the Mustangs a 10-7 lead.

"I knew they had been doing that route all day," Prester said, "so I knew I could jump it on one of those plays."

Central's defense toughened in the second half, holding South to 62 yards of total offense. Prester also helped knock down a fourth-down pass deep in Central territory to stop a South drive that began after a Cougar fumble recovery.

"It just takes a lot of hard work, dedication and getting our minds right," Lopez said. "We were all hyped for this game. We just have to keep going out and doing our thing. We're going to keep getting better."

The Mustangs now hit the road for back-to-back games against Hutchinson and Campus as they look to stay on the winning track.

"We knew we had to work hard tonight," Lopez said. "We all love the game of football, so yeah, it was amazing coming out and winning like this. It stinks we lost those first two games, but we just have to keep looking forward and working hard."

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